GWYNEDD VALLEY, PA – The Highlanders made the short trip over to Gwynedd Mercy on Monday in search of their seventh-straight win, coming up short, 73-70.
 
Gwynedd Mercy (8-0 / ATLANTIC EAST) opened the matchup with nine unanswered points before graduate forward Josiah Hardy (Ashburn, VA / Hampden-Sydney) got fouled and made both free throws getting the Highlanders on the board. Senior guard Jonathan Desir (Feasterville, PA / Neshaminy) scored a layup leading to an overwhelming response from the Griffins, extending the lead to ten. Graduate guard Jaylon Simpson (Atlanta, GA / Belmont Abbey) made a three and classmate Corey Baldwin (Henderson, NC / Averett) added a layup, cutting the lead in half, forcing a timeout from Gwynedd Mercy. Fifth year forward Isiah Coleman (Fontana, CA / Clarks Summit University) made the next five points for Cairn (6-3 / 3-0 UNITED EAST) but the Griffins roared on, pushing the lead back to 16. Layups from Simpson and Hardy reduced the lead to twelve as halftime hit.
 
Out of the break, Gwynedd Mercy pushed the margin as far as 18-points, the largest lead of the night, getting the Highlander offense to finally answer back in force. Simpson scored a pair of layups around a three from graduate guard Jeff Williamson (Brooklyn, NY / SUNY Potsdam). Baldwin made a layup followed by a jumper by Simpson and layup for Hardy as Cairn chipped away. After another Griffin timeout to stop the bleeding, Baldwin came out with a jump shot as then he and Williamson went back-to-back from deep as Gwynedd Mercy's lead was now a single point. On the next possession, Hardy took it upon himself to give the Highlanders the lead, blocking a shot on the defensive end, grabbing the defensive board, and then running the court to grab an offensive rebound and putback layup with Cairn up 50-49 with ten minutes to play. The Griffins were not enthused, finishing through contact on a layup and adding a free throw before a triple put them back in the driver's seat. A layup and fastbreak dunk put the lead up to seven with Simpson and Hardy pushing back with layups. Gwynedd Mercy made two more threes down the stretch as Cairn had to foul to try to regain possession. Simpson and Coleman got to the basket for layups, down only one point with 24 seconds to play as the Griffins went 2-4 from the free throw line in the closing seconds. Coleman would have a look from about 55-feet away at the horn to tie the game but wasn't able to hit as Cairn lost their first game in almost three weeks.
 
Hardy led Cairn with 17 points including a game-high six offensive rebounds (9 total) while going a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line. Simpson had 16 with nine boards as well. Baldwin recorded a double-double of 15 points and ten rebounds with a pair of steals. Coleman was also in double figures with 12 points from a pair of threes. Cairn was 28-75 (37.3%) from the field on Monday compared to Gwynedd Mercy's 44.8% (30-67).
 
Cairn will matchup with UMBC on the road Tuesday (on ESPN+) in exhibition play before heading to Maryland Eastern shore next week.